Israel’s oil drilling in Golan criticised

Source: aljazeera.com

By: Creede Newton and Patrick Strickland

Southern Golan Heights – Heavily subsidised Jewish-only settlements, large Israeli military areas and tanks dot the rolling green hills in this part of the Golan Heights; Syrian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war.

In addition to the ubiquitous signs warning of landmines, remnants of Syrian life are everywhere; bombed-out homes, dilapidated schools, crumbling hospitals. Most of the region’s indigenous Syrians – an estimated 90,000 Christians, Muslims and Druze – were expelled from the 70 percent of the Golan Heights under Israeli control.

Israeli Settlements Explained (Video)

 In the Occupied West Bank, half a million Israelis live in over a hundred settlements built on Palestinian land. The government of Israel says it has a right to build these settlements; the rest of the world disagrees. Find out why Israelis choose to live on occupied land, how they affect Palestinians, and why, despite international condemnation, the settlements continue to grow.